There once was a fellow by the name of Clysm. While browsing the Internet in 2003, he discovered GameMaker, and decided to fool around with it. After about six months worth of work, he created ''Seiklus,'' a simple {{Metroidvania}} with an emphasis on exploration and discovery rather than simple combat. He threw in some chiptunes, called it a night, and posted it to the official GameMaker forums and asked if people liked it.

In short? [[SugarWiki/GushingAboutShowsYouLike Hell yes.]]

In somewhat longer, the game shot to popularity with both the indie and casual games crowds, and paved the way for other exploration-heavy {{Metroidvania}} games like ''VideoGame/{{Knytt}}'' and ''VideoGame/AnUntitledStory.'' With its simple but colorful graphics, [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic simple but retro soundtrack]], and simple yet engrossing gameplay, it gained a well-earned place in the indie-game hall of fame.

The story ([[ExcusePlot or what there is of one]]) is simple. A small white fellow has been separated from his girlfriend, thanks to an unfortunate meteor crash. Now, he must seek out a series of artifacts that will help him return to her. After exploring the world and finding the way up, he now must [[ExtendedGameplay find all the colored whisps scattered around the world]], find the final artifact, and uncover all the pieces of a moon-shaped amulet.

The game can be [[http://www.autofish.net/clysm/art/video_games/seiklus/ downloaded from Clysm's website]] for free.

----!!This game contains examples of:* AlwaysCheckBehindTheChair: Though there's usually an eye-like marker along walls with hidden goodies, the haunted crypt notably ''doesn't'' for a couple places.* BigBoosHaunt: The orange whisp area (the "castle"). The ghosts in it are, thankfully, harmless. * BilingualBonus: “Seiklus” is Estonian for “adventure.”* EnterSolutionHere: The two solutions to the piano puzzle. * ExcusePlot* ExtendedGameplay: Even after getting back to your girlfriend, there are still seven hidden amulet pieces to collect. * GottaCatchEmAll: The colored whisps, the artifacts, and the moon amulet pieces.* GreenHillZone: The opening area.* InvisibleBlock: Present in overworld area. One artifact makes them barely visible.* LethalLavaLand: Actually averted in the more traditional sense. There ''is'' a volcano, but there's no real "lava" to speak of. You ''do'' see a field of volcanic ash, though.* MookBouncer: Stupid cave traps. Stupid, ''stupid'' cave traps...* MoonLogicPuzzle: The piano. [[spoiler:Remember that rainbow-skeleton in the haunted crypt? Might want to write down the sequence of the colors. Oh, and those seemingly random numbers at the top-left corner of the glitch room? They're the order of the keys you have to hit for a chest to appear.]]* {{Metroidvania}}* RewardingVandalism: one or two jars inside the haunted crypt hold whisps.* WarpWhistle: [[spoiler: The final artifact, necessary to access the ExtendedGameplay.]] * WombLevel: The giant... ''thing'' living in the underground lake. ----